Tissue-dispensing package



July 22, 1969 T, H. PLANNER 3,456,843

TISSUE-DISPENS ING PACKAGE Filed April 5, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 T. H. PLANNER TISSUE-DISPENS ING PACKAGE 3,456jis43 July 22, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' Filed April 5, 1968 3,456,843 TISSUE-DISPENSING PACKAGE Thomas H. Planner, Appleton, Wis., assignor to Kimberly- Clark Corporation, Neenah, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 5, 1968, Ser. No. 718,990 Int. Cl. B65h 1/04 U.S. Cl. 221-63 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION U.S. Patent 3,209,941 discloses a tissue dispensing package in which a flat stack of interleaved tissues is disposed in a rectangular carton. The carton has a medial line of perforations extending transversely of the top wall and through the adjacent side walls. This arrangement permits the carton to be easily broken in half and folded back on itself, forming the tissue stack into an inverted U-conguration. The tissues may then be dispensed from the closed end of the U-shaped stack. The carton, of course, is locked in its open position by suitable means.

While this arrangement provides a simple, functional package, it has some objectionable features which the present invention largely overcomes. For example, after the package is broken open, an appreciable portion of the tissue stack remains completely exposed, which is an undesirable condition from a sanitary or hygienic viewpoint. Also, the tissues are not subjected to any appreciable restraint as they are withdrawn, with the result that more than one tissue at a time may be pulled out of the carton when only one is desired. A third disadvantage is that since no mechanical restrictions or restraints are provided over the open portion of the carton, one end of the tissue stack may slip out of the carton during the opening operations, or during subsequent dispensing operations; both of the latter conditions being undesirable.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved `break-open dispensing package for disposable tissues in which the opened end is provided with a protective cover.

It is another object to provide an improved break-open package in which the tissues in the opened carton are subjected to frictional restraint to aid dispensing.

Still another object is to provide an improved breakopen package in which the protective cover automatically positions itself in place over the tissue stack when the package is opened.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention comprises an improvement in dispensing packages for disposable tissues of the type in which a flat stack of tissues is disposed in a substantially rectangular carton, and the carton is designed to be broken open and folded in half to prepare the tissues for dispensing, In such packages, the top wall of the carton is provided with a medial line of perforations extending transversely thereof and continuing down through both adjacent sides. In the improved construction of the invention, there is attached to the underside of the top Wall of the carton an atent O elongate expandable insert having a central aperture cut therein. The insert preferably has a iiat central portion around the central aperture, expandable portions on each side of this central portion, and end portions where the insert is fastened to the top wall of the carton. When the package is opened by breaking the carton in half and folding it back on itself, and the tissue stack automatically formed into an inverted U-conguration, the central portion of the stack, which forms the closed end of the U, pushes against the central unattached portion of the expandable insert, causing adjacent portions of the insert to expand, while the central portion is maintained in snug engagement with the curved surface of the tissue stack. The central portion of the insert thus bridges the open end of the broken-apart carton from one top wall portion to the other top wall portion and covers the closed upper side of the U formed by the folded tissue stack. The opened carton is locked in its folded open position by any suitable means, and the tissues are ready for dispensing through the central aperture in the insert.

The above-described package thus is an improvement over the prior-art package in that it covers and protects the tissue stack during use while providing an improved dispensing action.

The above and other features, objects and advantages attendant the improved package of this invention will become apparent by reference to the following specification and accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing where like numbers represent like parts:

FIG. l is a perspective view of the top of the closed carton package made in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective top view of one form of expandable insert for use inside the carton of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section taken along line 3 3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, with one side wall removed, of the carton package of FIG. 1 after it has been broken open and folded back on itself ready for dispenslng.

FIG. 5 is a perspective top view of another form of expandable insert for use in the carton.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of how the FIG. 5 insert would appear in the carton after it is expanded during the carton opening operation.

FIG, 7 is a perspective top view of still another form of expandable insert for use in the carton.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of how the FIG. 7 insert Would appear in the carton after it is expanded during the carton opening operation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. l illustrates in perspective, the simple outer appearance of a package made in accordance with this invention.

As will be seen by reference thereto, the top wall of the package 11 is divided into halves 12 and 12a by a medial transverse line of weakening 13. Line 13 extends through the front side wall to divide it into halves 14 and 14a. Line 13 also extends through the back side wall in a similar manner.

In FIG. 2 there is shown an elongate expandable insert which is disposed immediately under the top wall and attached thereto as shown in FIG. 3.

Insert 15 comprises an elongate substantially rectangular sheet of flexible material having a central flat panel section 17 and an aperture 16 centrally disposed therein. On each side of the central panel there is an expandable section comprising a multiplicity of transverse corrugations or zig-zag folds 18 and 18a. At either end of the expandable section there is an attachment area 19 and 19a provided with suitable attachment means such as adhesive areas 20 and 20a.

FIG. 3 shows the insert of FIG. 2 in position within the FIG. l package.

As shown in FIG. 3, attachment area 19 of the insert is attached to the underside of top wall portion 12 by a suitable adhesive 20. Attachment area 19a 4of the insert is attached to the underside of top wall portion 12a Vby adhesive 20a. Corrugated portions 18 and 18a underlie top wall portions 12 and 12a respectively. An elliptical central aperture 16 is approximately centered under the transverse line of perforations 13 in the top wall. A flat stack of tissues 21, preferably interleaved or interfolded, is disposed under the insert.

FIG. 4 shows the carton after it has been broken open along line of perforations 13 and folded back as at 22 to bring the two halves of the bottom wall in face-to-face engagement. The opened carton is locked in its open position by suitable means, such as by adhesive or by the bifurcated locking device shown in lU.S. Patent 3,209,941. Side wall portions 14 and 14a of FIG. l have been removed in this gure to show the internal arrangement of the tissue stack and expanded insert in the opened carton. During the folding operation, the center fold in the back wall of the carton at 22 pushes the stack of tissues 21 upward to form the stack into an inverted U-conguration. The central portion 17 of the insert is also forced to move upward with the tissues into snug conformation with the outer surface thereof. Since the expandable insert is attached to the carton walls at 19 and 19a by adhesive 20 and 20a respectively, the upward pushing force exerted on the insert by the tissue stack as the back-wall of the carton is folded, causes zig-zag fold areas 18 and 18a to open up suciently to hold the central portion 17 of the insert in snug association with the tissue stack. After the carton is opened and locked, the leading tissue 21a may be started through opening 16 as shown. Gentle pressure exerted by central portion 17 on the tissue stack helps separate the tissues from each other as they are sequentially dispensed. As subsequent tissues are removed and the stack gradually depleted, the natural resilience of the folded portions 18 and 18a will cause these areas to retract and continue to exert a slight force on the tissue stack to aid dispensing.

In FIG. 5, there is shown an alternate form for the expandable insert. In this embodiment the expandable portion comprises a pair of flat box pleats 23 on the left and 23a on the right, characterized by a pair of folds 24 and 25, and 24a and 25a respectively, forming a flattened Z-fold on the left and a reverse Z-fold on the right.

When the carton is opened as in FIG. 4, the at box pleats will be forced to open up as shown in FIG. 6. The insert of FIG. is, of course, attached to the top wall of the carton in the same way as the insert of FIG. 2.

In FIG. 7, there is shown still another alternate form for the expandable insert. In this embodiment the expandable portion comprises a plurality of parallelly arranged lines of spaced slits 26 and 26a with the spaces 27 and 27a between slits disposed in an alternating arrangement from one line to the next, so that a slit in one line is disposed opposite a space in the adjacent line.

In this arrangement, when the carton is opened, the slit portions will be forced to expand and form a lattice- Work design similar to expanded metal sheeting, as shown in FIG. 8.

The most common and presently most economical material for constructing the carton and insert is light-weight paperboard. However, other flexible, form-sustaining materials with similar properties may be used. Expandable films or foils may also be used.

This invention is intended particularly for use with interfolded or interleaved tissues, but it will be seen that, with the enlargement of the opening in the central panel of the insert, it may be readily adapted for use with noninterleaved sheets.

It is further understood that suitable changes, modifications, and variations may be made in the described embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a dispensing package for disposable sheet material wherein a at stack of tissues is disposed in a rectangular carton having a medial line of weakening extending transversely across its top wall and through the adjacent side walls thereof and which carton may be broken open on said line, folded back on itself and locked in an open position, the improvement which comprises disposing immediately under said top wall an elongate insert having a central aperture therein; end portions of said insert being attached to the underside of said top Wall; and portions of said insert between said attached ends and said central aperture being adapted for longitudinal expansion.

2. The package of claim 1 in which said expandable portions comprise multiple transverse corrugations.

3. The package of claim 1 in which said expandable portions comprise transverse zig-zag folds.

4. The package of claim 1 in which said expandable portions comprised at box pleats.

5. The package of claim 1 in which said expandable portions comprise a plurality of parallelly arranged lines of spaced slits with the spaces and slits in immediately adjoining lines alternating with each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,072,859 9/1913 Kingsley 221-59 1,657,942 l/1928 Spaldo 22l--47 X 2,085,649 6/1937 Gluck 221-33 X 2,101,307 12/1937 Bodette 221-62 X 2,592,255 4/1952 Drees 221-34 X 3,209,941 10/1965 Krake 221-48 SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner 

